Arms, Armour & Militaria

A 23-year-old paratrooper’s account of escaping the Battle of Arnhem sold for £3200, over 10 times the top estimate at 1818 Auctioneers (20% buyer’s premium inc VAT) of Milnthorpe, Cumbria, on March 5.

This Chicago Firearms Co ‘The Protector’ palm pistol is estimated at $800-1200 in the Pook & Pook auction in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, on April 13.

When British Special Operations Executive (SOE) agents were parachuted into occupied Europe in the Second World War speed was vital. Not only did they have to jump from sub-radar altitudes as low as 400ft, hitting the ground within 10-15 seconds, but they also had to make a quick getaway.

To this day every Indian officer swears the ‘Chetwode motto’ as they commission into the army: The safety, honour and welfare of your country come first, always and every time. The honour, welfare and comfort of the men you command come next. Your own ease, comfort and safety come last, always and every time.

Until March 17, 1834, Her Majesty’s Body Guard of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms was known as The Honourable Band of Gentlemen Pensioners.

Lawrences of Crewkerne’s militaria auction on May 16 will include an important set of awards and medals to Vice Admiral Sir HT Walwyn.

Factors dictating the pricing of Naval General Service Medals were clearly demonstrated in the March 6 sale at Bosleys (20% buyer’s premium) in Marlow. Ten NGSMs were offered as part of a large single-owner medal collection.

Captain Albert Ball (1896-1917) is remembered as one of Britain’s greatest heroes of the skies. At the time of his death over Arras in the First World War, aged just 19, he had shot down at least 44 German planes and was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.

A collection of First World War memorabilia relating to British army Private John Trickett – including an 1889 copper penny apparently bent when a bullet hit his breast pocket – brought a multi-estimate sum at Hansons (20% buyer’s premium) of Etwall on March 22.

A hunger strike ‘Fed By Force’ medal awarded to Suffragette Selina Martin (1882-1972) has been snapped up at auction by an Australian museum.

A rifle from the personal armoury of Tipu Sultan sold for £60,000 in Oxfordshire last week.

Historic military specialist Michael D Long offers this Victorian Royal Artillery officer’s sabretache and pouch for £785 at the London Antique Arms Fair.

Specialist auction house Dix Noonan Webb bought the dedicated Britannia Medal Fair in 2018 from the event’s previous owner, Mark Carter.

'The Vintage and Classic Arms Fair' will run at Kempton Park Racecourse in Sunbury, Middlesex, on Sunday, March 24.

Thousands of items are available to buy from dealers online. Here we pick out one that caught our eye this week.

Laws relating to antique firearms and bladed weapons are set to change in the UK this year. Dealers, auctioneers and collectors will be affected by both the offensive weapons bill and an amendment to the Policing and Crime Act 2017 which are set to become law in 2019.

It is a quarter of a century since ATG’s first overview of London’s numismatic auction market. Here we review the heads and the tails of 2018.

Historical weapons from the personal armoury of Tipu Sultan will be offered for sale in Oxfordshire in the spring.